CHAPTER FOUR

There is Quite a Stir in Our Regiment

For Alfred Iverson, the fight raging in the 20th North Carolina over who would succeed him as colonel was even more upsetting than the troubles with Duncan McRae.

The problems began soon after Iverson’s promotion. The situation escalated into an open feud in early December when he nominated Lt. Col. William S. Devane from the 61st North Carolina to fill the vacancy in the 20th regiment. A friend of Iverson’s from early in the war, Devane accepted the chance to join the Army of Northern Virginia rather than remain on boring garrison duty with his regiment as part of the defense forces around Wilmington.

The 34-year-old William Devane had served as an attorney in Sampson County, North Carolina, before enlisting in the army as a private. His company was assigned initially to the 20th North Carolina at Fort Johnston. Following the selection of Capt. Franklin Faison as its lieutenant colonel in July of 1861, Devane ran as a candidate for the vacant position of captain against Lt. James C. Holmes. The divisive election led quickly to a significant rift within the ranks of the company. “There were strong feelings on both sides in the company,” one veteran recalled. “The Devane men, of who I was one, said we would not serve under Holmes.” The regimental command dispute grew to such contentious proportions that Governor Ellis was forced to split the factions into two companies.¹

Following his election as captain, Devane and the men from his newly formed company were transferred out of the regiment and sent to nearby Fort Caswell. In August of 1862, the company became part of the 61st North Carolina. Devane continued to serve as captain until he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 5, 1862. From the time of its formation, the regiment remained on duty in North Carolina, first around Goldsboro and later around Wilmington. The men experienced their only fighting during a minor battle at Kinston, North Carolina, on December 13, 1862.²

The selection of Devane to succeed Iverson became a subject of controversy from the moment it was announced. Although his brother, Capt. Duncan J. Devane, commanded a company in the 20th North Carolina, the officers of the regiment were nearly unanimous in opposing his appointment. Major Nelson Slough instead emerged as their choice for colonel after Lt. Col. W. H. Toon declined to seek the position and resigned due to a “congestive chill.” According to Capt. John S. Brooks, the major obstacle to his promotion was that “Genl Iverson now and all ways did hate Major Slough.”³